Europe’s Leaders Poised to Punish Russia With Sweeping Oil Embargo

The far-reaching measure, if approved, could deprive the Kremlin of a key stream of revenue for its war machine and would hasten Europe’s independence from Russian fuel. Fighting raged in eastern Ukraine as Russia struggled with a potential insurgency in occupied territory elsewhere.

A Ukrainian armored personnel carrier driving toward Sievierodonetsk on Monday.Credit...Finbarr O'Reilly for The New York Times

European Union leaders were poised to endorse an embargo on Russian oil at a summit in Brussels Monday following weeks of fraught negotiations, paving the way for Europe’s most far-reaching effort yet to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

If approved, the move would mark a critical moment in the bloc’s support for Ukraine, reflecting the hardening of Western opposition to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. It would come at a heavy economic cost for Europe, which depends on Russian fossil fuels, a key source of revenue that has allowed Moscow to build up its military. The E.U. gets about 27 percent of its crude oil imports from Russia and a higher share of its oil products, paying billions of dollars a month.

The proposed compromise was only possible by capitulating to Hungary and its mercurial prime minister Viktor Orban, a sometime ally of Mr. Putin, who had been blocking the measure and received an indefinite exemption. The need to placate Hungary underlined the fragility of European unity when the 27-member E.U. is faced with even a single obstructionist member. The measure will ban all Russian oil transported to the European Union by tankers, and permit crude arriving by pipeline. That would still outright ban two-thirds of all oil imported into the bloc from Russia, based on the draft agreement leaders were set to adopt Monday,

Source: NY Times

Northern Ireland Protocol: Liz Truss ‘will scrap parts of NI Protocol as soon as next week’

The Foreign Secretary will reportedly move to discard large portions of the Northern Ireland Protocol after giving up on Brexit negotiations with the EU.

The Foreign Secretary will reportedly move to discard large portions of the Northern Ireland Protocol after giving up on Brexit negotiations with the EU.

The Times reported officials working for Liz Truss have drawn up draft legislation to unilaterally remove the need for checks on all goods being sent from Britain for use in Northern Ireland.

The law would also ensure businesses in Northern Ireland are able to disregard EU rules and regulations and remove the power of the European Court of Justice to rule on issues relating to the region, the paper said.

Importantly, the bill would override the protocol agreed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2019 and mean the UK had breached its obligations under the Brexit agreement.

It comes after The Sunday Telegraph said Ms Truss faces Cabinet opposition, particularly from Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Communities Secretary Michael Gove, to her plans to rip up the protocol.

UK-EU discussions on the Northern Ireland Protocol need to be intensified, the Irish premier has told Boris Johnson.

In a call on Tuesday morning, Taoiseach Micheal Martin spoke to the UK Prime Minister about the challenges facing Northern Ireland following the Assembly election.

He tweeted: “We both agreed on the need to see the NI Executive formed as soon as possible.

“On the Protocol, I stressed need to intensify EU and UK discussions, and to avoid any unilateral action.”

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, meanwhile, has said that he will not lead the DUP back into powersharing until the issue is resolved, suggesting the prospects of any quick return of the devolved powersharing Executive at Stormont are diminishing.

MLAs returned to Parliament Buildings on Monday and party leaders were also holding separate meetings with Secretary of State Brandon Lewis.

Sinn Fein vice president Michelle O’Neill said that the DUP and British Government must accept and respect the democratic result of the Northern Ireland Assembly elections.

The Prime Minister has said he does not plan to be personally involved in the Northern Ireland talks, while Downing Street played down the reported Cabinet rift over the protocol.

Asked about the Government’s position on the protocol and whether there are divisions within Cabinet over proposals to unilaterally scrap it, Mr Johnson’s official spokesman said: “I wouldn’t say that at all.

“I think our preference has always been for a negotiated solution to fix the protocol and we have been clear that we will take further steps if solutions can’t be found.

“No decisions have yet been taken on the way forward. The Deputy Prime Minister made clear the situation, it’s very serious.”

He insisted the proposals put forward by the European Commission “don’t go anywhere near far enough to make the protocol sustainable”, adding: “We believe (they) would take us backwards from where we are today. So no decisions have been taken. But we do reserve the right to take action.”

That line echoed earlier comments on Monday by Tory MP Michelle Donelan, in which the universities minister said scrapping the protocol was “on the table as one of the options” in the wake of Sinn Fein’s success in the Stormont elections.

Source: The Scotsman

Swapping 20% of beef for microbial protein ‘could halve deforestation’

Move would also lower emissions by reducing razing of trees and methane emissions from livestock, scientists say

Replacing 20% of the world’s beef consumption with microbial protein could halve the destruction of the planet’s forests. Photograph: Raúl Arboleda/AFP/Getty Images

Replacing 20% of the world’s beef consumption with microbial protein, such as Quorn, could halve the destruction of the planet’s forests over the next three decades, according to the latest analysis.

The move would also halve emissions from the global food system, by reducing the razing of trees and the methane emissions from livestock. Previous studies have found meat alternatives have lower environmental footprints but this latest analysis is the first to assess what impact that could have in the world.

Deforestation also devastates wildlife but is proving very difficult to stop. Experts say the best way is to cut demand for the products driving the destruction, such as replacing them with greener alternatives. Microbial protein is brewed in warm bioreactors, like beer, with the microbes fed sugar. The protein-rich product could taste and feel like meat, and be as nutritious, the researchers said.

Today, 83% of farmland is used for livestock and their feed crops, but the meat and dairy produced accounts for only 18% of the calories consumed by humans. The production of ruminant meat – mostly beef, but also lamb and goat – has more than doubled since 1961, but a series of studies have shown meat-eating in rich nations must fall drastically to beat the climate crisis.

“The food system is at the root of a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, with ruminant meat production being the single largest source,” said Dr Florian Humpenöder, a researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in Germany who led the study. “The good news is that people do not need to be afraid they can eat only greens in the future. They can continue eating burgers and the like, it’s just that those burger patties will be produced in a different way.”

The research focused on microbial meat as it had been produced at industrial scale for 20 years and was already available, said Dr Isabelle Weindl, also at PIK. “Even accounting for the sugar as feedstock, microbial protein requires much less agricultural land compared [with] ruminant meat.” Previous studies have shown the protein quality of microbial meat is equivalent to beef but it requires 90% less land and water and produces 80% less greenhouse gas emissions.

The study, which was published in the journal Nature, used computer models that included middle-of-the-road projections of socioeconomic factors such as rising demand for beef, growing world population, increases in income and shifts in international trade.

The 56% reduction in deforestation – 78m hectares (193m acres) – resulting from one-fifth of beef being replaced by microbial protein occurred in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. Significant deforestation still occurred in the modelling due to the production of other foods, such as palm oil and cocoa.

The researchers found the substitution of microbial protein largely cancelled out projected rises in demand for beef, meaning new areas of pasture did not need to be cut into forests. Increasing the proportion of beef replaced to more than 20% resulted in diminishing returns because much of the deforestation had already been prevented, with a 50% replacement leading to an 82% cut in deforestation by 2050.

Microbial protein can be produced from a range of microorganisms, including bacteria, but the main source on the market today is produced from fungi, with the market leader being Quorn. “The best meat alternative is to eat less,” said Humpenöder. “But [microbial protein products] can make it easier for people to switch away from meat.”

The study did not analyse the effect of plant-based alternatives to meat, but these would also be expected to significantly cut environmental impacts. Meat cultured in bioreactors from animal cells is still in early stages of development and was not included in the study because of a lack of suitable data.

Dr Tilly Collins at Imperial College London, who was not part of the study team, said: “While the predictions of these models depend strongly on our ability to deliver such protein substitution, there is no doubt that the efficiency of biotech-enabled alternatives offers huge future potential for more sustainable food provision.

“Governments and food production business need to coordinate to develop appropriate standards [for microbial protein] and thus future public confidence. Our nuggets may never be the same again.”

The bioreactors used to create microbial protein require heating, and using high-carbon sources of electricity would offset part of their benefit, but green electricity is expanding quickly as costs continue to fall.

Humpenöder said: “Microbial protein should not be seen as a silver bullet, but rather as a building block in a large transformation of the whole food and agricultural system, combining it with reductions in food waste, incentives to eat healthier, and de-incentivising the sale of products with high environmental impacts.”